TAMPA, Fla. -- Midway through each question, a grin spread across Yimi García’s face. The Blue Jays’ reliever was fresh off his Spring Training debut against the Yankees, which was a long time coming after visa issues delayed his arrival in Florida.
García described his debut as “emotional,” but it was also effective. García struck out both Kyle Higashioka and Aaron Judge swinging, allowing a single in the middle to Josh Donaldson, who was thrown out trying for second. When asked which role he’s expecting to play in this bullpen, García cut off his interpreter’s translation of the question and dove right into his answer in Spanish.
“I’m ready. I want to do my job,” García said. “It doesn’t matter which inning -- seventh, eighth, ninth. If they want me to start, I’ll start for this team. I’m ready to go.”
García was still able to throw to live hitters in the Dominican Republic while he waited for the visa process to play out, but that’s not the same as being in camp. The Blue Jays had to be patient, but loved what they saw when he arrived.
The radar gun backed that up in Wednesday’s win over the Yankees, with García averaging 95.3 mph on his fastball. That’s in line with his average of 96 mph from ’21, which represented a career high. It’s something that García credits, very simply, to hard work in the offseason, but it adds another power arm to a bullpen looking for a No. 2 option to step up behind Jordan Romano.
The Blue Jays certainly believe in García’s ability, shown by the two-year, $11 million deal they handed him in free agency. Whether you look at the past decade or back through the entire history of the Blue Jays, multiyear deals for relievers are very uncommon.
Beyond the results and metrics, though, García kept coming back to one thing.
“The emotions of all of the guys here and the energy,” García said. “They come to the field and in the clubhouse, you feel that energy. It’s everywhere when they are on the field. It’s unbelievable, the energy that these guys have.”
Ryu, Gausman schedules hint to rotation
While many of the Blue Jays’ regulars were boarding buses for Tampa to play the Yankees, Hyun Jin Ryu and Kevin Gausman were mowing through lineups of Minor League players during an intrasquad game at the club’s complex.
Ryu threw 61 pitches over four innings while Gausman threw 74 over five, putting both of them in a good spot to make one final tuneup outing before the regular season begins. From here, the Blue Jays will separate the pair's schedules.
“What’s going to happen now is that Gausman doesn’t get an extra day's rest,” Montoyo said. “Ryu is going to get a day off.”
That means Gausman will pitch ahead of Ryu in the Blue Jays’ rotation, with José Berríos clearly on track to be the Opening Day starter April 8 in Toronto. That would likely see Alek Manoah slot in as the No. 4 with Yusei Kikuchi as the No. 5. Given the seven-year extension Berríos signed over the offseason, you can get used to seeing him take the ball in Game 1.
'Use the force, Lukes'
Outfielder Nathan Lukes is a name that deserves some shine for his performance in Grapefruit League play. After making a great throw from left field to nail Donaldson trying for second base, Lukes launched his first home run of spring, a 420-foot shot to right field.
Lukes signed a Minor League deal with the Blue Jays back on Nov. 29, and while this isn’t a situation where he’s competing to steal big league reps right now, he’s doing himself plenty of favors when it comes to the pecking order of Toronto’s off-roster outfield depth.
That group, which will soon include 14-year veteran Dexter Fowler, is rounded out by Mallex Smith and Chavez Young. If the Blue Jays need to add an outfielder to the 40-man roster at any point in ’22, they’ll reach for the hot hand.